Kauai County Hawaii Historical Markers

This 1926 Hanalei School classroom building was designed by architect John Waiamau. Scheduled for demolition in 1987, it was moved to the present site and adapted to a new retail use in 1989. The restored building is on the National Register of . . . — — Map (db m27062) HM

The Waioli Mission Hall was established by American Christian missionaries in 1834. A pole and thatch meeting house was constructed by Hawaiians on this site, in anticipation of the arrivals of the missionaries. The first meeting house was destroyed . . . — — Map (db m9804) HM

Houola (dew of life) is the name passed down from ancient times for this place at the mouth of the Wailua River. Historical accounts suggest a pu'uhonua (place of refuge) was located here where one could escape punishment and find safety . . . — — Map (db m65754) HM

Many generations ago, every stone was brought by hand up to this bluff from the rivers below to build this heiau (temple). A heiau was often remodeled by a new ruling ali'i (chief) and his kahuna (priest).
Within . . . — — Map (db m65809) HM

Roxy Square stands on the lot where the largest movie theater in the islands was built by W.A. and Agnes Scharsch Fernandez in 1939. Designed by the well-known Honolulu architect C.W. Dickey, it was modeled after the famous Roxy Theater in New York . . . — — Map (db m40423) HM

Steeped in Hawaiian oral traditions, Wai'ale'ale mountain represents the piko or navel of Kaua'i. Its peak, Kawaikini is the highest point on the island at 5,243 feet. Reputed as one of the world's wettest spots, it average 400 to 600 inches of . . . — — Map (db m65794) HM

Welcome to Pu’ukohola Heiau, one of the most famous heiau (temples) in the Hawaiian Islands. This heiau is an integral component of the traditional Hawaiian social, political, and religious systems, and a significant place in the history of King . . . — — Map (db m71874) HM

Buddhist temples provided Japanese immigrants a place to worship, study their language, learn martial arts and participate in social events. This Jodo Mission used a specialist in temple architecture from Japan to build the large temple’s interior. . . . — — Map (db m13007) HM

Kōloa Missionary Church sanctuary is part of a homestead once owned by Dr. James W. Smith, a medical missionary. In 1842, he began a practice of over 40 years, later becoming an ordained minister at The Church at Kōloa. His grandson, Dr. . . . — — Map (db m13023) HM

The Beginning. Near this site, on September 12, 1835, William Hooper began clearing 12 acres of land to plant sugar cane. The land was part of 980 acres leased by Hooper’s employer, Ladd & Co. of Honolulu. The land was leased from King . . . — — Map (db m18760) HM

Built at the turn of the 20th century, The Yamamoto Building functioned at various times as a plantation camp store and general store with service station. Behind it, the Kōloa Hotel offered rooms to traveling salesmen and actors. The o-furo, . . . — — Map (db m13010) HM

In the mid 1800s, Kōloa Landing was the third largest whaling port in all of Hawai‘i and the only port of entry for foreign goods. The sugar industry increased its use until 1912, when better facilities became available. Up to 60 ships a year . . . — — Map (db m12787) HM

Stone and coral tools found a Keoneloa Bay , or long sand, helped arcaeologists determine that early Hawaiians used the area between 200 and 600 A.D. as a temporary fishing camp. Later Hawaiians left remnants of heiau, or temples, and ahu, or . . . — — Map (db m12806) HM

What began as a hobby garden by the Kōloa Plantation manager’s wife became celebrated as one of the world’s best of its kind. Numerous cactus planted in the 1930s thrived in the arid, rocky soil here. Many escaped to surrounding areas to become . . . — — Map (db m12797) HM

Prince Jonah Kūhiō Kalaniana‘ole was born in a grass hut near this spot to Princess Kinoike Kekaulike and High Chief David Kahalepouli Pi‘ikoi. He became a delagate to U.S. Congress after Hawai‘i became a Territory in 1900, serving for 19 . . . — — Map (db m12778) HM

More than 5 million years ago, a hotspot in the earth spewed lava upward to form the volcanic mountain island of Kaua‘i. Nearby Hā‘upu Ridge and Mountain contain some of the oldest geologic formations. Look for the youngest volcanic cones, such . . . — — Map (db m12864) HM

The bay before you—named Keoneloa (or ‘the long sand’)—is the site of one of the oldest known Hawaiian occupation on Kaua‘i, a temporary fishing camp, dating to A.D. 220–660.
The Hawaiians divided each island into . . . — — Map (db m12807) HM

Spouting Horn Park was called puhi, or blowhole, by early Hawaiians. Legends tell of a huge mo‘o, or lizard, caught in this puhi, which was formed when waves eroded softer, underlying rocks and wore through the harder top rock. Water rushing into . . . — — Map (db m12764) HM

You are now standing at what was – for a few months in 1816 and 1817 – the site of a Russian fort named for the Emperor Alexander. How a fort came to be built here, what became of it, and how this part of Kaua'i later got the name . . . — — Map (db m65811) HM

In 1942, Albert S. Morgan, Sr. a native Hawaiian, married Helen Farias and raised five children. The family lived in the community of Wailua where Mr. Morgan served a term as president of the Wailua House Lots Community Association.
As the . . . — — Map (db m40453) HM

In January, 1778, two ships under the command of British navigator Captain James Cook sighted the northwest coast of O'ahu. The next day they cruised from Maha'ulepu to Waimea Bay on Kaua'i where they set anchor. Acquainted with the Tahitian . . . — — Map (db m65777) HM

Sheep raising became economically important within the interior of Hawai'i during the second half of the nineteenth century. In the 1860s, the Waimea Grazing and Agricultural Company established a station for sheep at Humu'ula. By 1873 it had a . . . — — Map (db m110787) HM

The row of hewn stone along the inner side of the road is a remnant of one wall of a water-course which is said to have been made by the MENEHUNES (Hawaiian dwarves or Brownies)
The stones were brought from Mokihana
There is an old saying: . . . — — Map (db m27646) HM

What is a kīpuka?
Pu'uhuluhulu, a 500-year old patter cone, is a kīpuka ( an older oasis within a newer lava flow). It preserves native plants and acts as a seed bank to revegetate the more recent lava flows that surround it. . . . — — Map (db m110790) HM

Fort History
Fort Elizabeth was one of three Russian Forts partially built between 1815 and 1817 on the island of Kauai. Fort Alexander and Fort Barclay were built near the mouths of the Hanalei River on the north shore of Kauai while Fort . . . — — Map (db m65778) HM